Burn
by Random1377
Summary: Asuka has a problem... Shinji offers help... just a short little one-shot.


Disclaimer: Evangelion is owned by Studio Gainax animation, not me. I claim no rights to their work, and will gladly remove this piece of fan-fiction from the web should they request it. 

Burn

By Random1377

Shinji Ikari looked up from the report he was writing. "Everything ok?" he asked cautiously, rising from the seat at the kitchen table.

It was not his usual greeting, but then again he had not heard a string of curses the likes of which issued from the mouth of his roommate, Asuka Langley Souryu, in… ever.

The redhead in question stormed into the kitchen, still cursing, and threw her shoulder bag on the chair Shinji had vacated only seconds before. "No!" she snapped, "Does it LOOK like everything's ok?? Where's Misato!?"

Shinji swallowed, taking in the redness of Asuka's face and arms as she gestured to them. "Ummm… she's not here," he said awkwardly, trying to avoid her glare, "I think she had to go in to work…"

"GREAT!!" the girl shrieked, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other, "That's just perfect!!"

Shinji cringed as she grabbed her bag off the chair and headed out of the kitchen. "What… what happened?" he stammered, following her into the living room, where she had dropped onto the couch.

He noted with some alarm that she groaned when her skin hit the fabric.

"Go away…" Asuka moaned, "are you really that stupid? I fell asleep in the sun… moron…"

Shinji blushed. "I, ummm… weren't you with Hikari?" he asked, trying to sound helpful, "didn't she, ummm… wake you?"

"OOO!!!" the redhead growled, "Does it look like it, Third Child?? She fell asleep too! But since she's FROM this godforsaken city, she didn't burn as bad!!"

The boy dropped his eyes. "You could, ummm… put something on it…" he offered timidly, "some kind of cream, or something. I mean, when you get a burn you-"

"I KNOW THAT!!" Asuka interrupted angrily, "Why do you think I was looking for Misato? Huh??" She got to her feet and turned around, "Look at my BACK!" she shouted, pulling her shirt up a ways, "It's like a lobster! And I can't REACH IT!!!"

"S-sorry!" Shinji stammered, "What about Hika-"

"She had to go somewhere with her family!" Asuka interrupted again, rounding on the boy, "And I didn't want her to-" she cut herself off.

She was not about to tell this weak little boy that she had been too prideful to ask for help. No, not her! She would never let him know that Hikari had OFFERED to put some cream on for her, but she had refused, saying it wasn't all that bad. He wouldn't understand that she couldn't show that kind of weakness in front of her friends!

He wouldn't!

"Well," Shinji said slowly, "I, ummm… I can call her…" he offered, "See if she can come home…"

"WOULD ya??" Asuka sniped, "Or do you think I LIKE being in pain??" As the boy scampered off, she clenched her eyes closed. It was bad enough, she thought, that she was in so much pain in the first place – but to have to listen to his sniveling and stammering!! It was almost more than she could bear.

The situation went from bad to worse when Shinji came back in several moments later, looking more awkward than ever.

"What?" Asuka demanded, "How long 'til she gets here?"  


"She's… not coming…" Shinji said miserably, "She can't get away from work."

"What am I supposed to do??" the redhead shouted.

"Misato said… I should help…" Shinji whispered, wide-eyed.

Asuka's eyes narrowed. "You're just trying to get me to take off my shirt!" she said darkly, "Give me the phone!"

Shinji flushed a brilliant shade of red. "I… she really said that!" he protested weakly, "Really!!"

Asuka took a deep breath, weighing her options. If she called Misato, and accused the boy of lying… she could get in trouble. She had done something similar barely one week prior, when Shinji had done the laundry. He had told her that Misato wanted him to wash all her clothes – including her undergarments – and Asuka had called him a pervert and called their guardian. Unfortunately for her, Misato had been quite serious – and quite angry at having the redhead call and waste her time.

Compounding her problem was the fact that she was tired. The walk from Hikari's had been long, and she hadn't wanted to ride the bus or train, with their hard plastic seats and numerous, jostling, bustling riders. So she could either wait, in pain, for Misato to return… or give in and let the brown-haired boy touch her.

"Get the damn cream!" Asuka snapped, sitting on the couch, "Hurry up, my back is killing me…" 

Shinji nodded quickly and dashed out of the room, returning a moment later with the sunburn cream. "Ummm… why don't you sit on the floor," he offered, "and I'll sit behind you on the couch… is that ok?"

"Whatever!" Asuka muttered, rising to her feet, "Just hurry up… and don't try anything funny, you pervert!"

Shinji sat on the couch and uncapped the cream, waiting for the redhead to sit down.

"I mean it," Asuka murmured, turning to face away from the boy, "your hands better stay on my back – and above my waist – or I'll slap you so hard, you won't wake up until FOURTH Impact!" She smiled as she heard the boy swallow. "Close your eyes until I sit down."

The brown-haired boy did as he was told, shifting uncomfortably as the sound of rustling cloth reached his ears, and he gasped as he felt bare skin touching his leg.

"Oh stop!" Asuka muttered, settling in between his feet, "You'd think I'm rubbing my boobs on your leg… you freak…"

Shinji blushed at the very thought, stammering, "C-can I open my eyes now?" When Asuka said he could, he let out a sigh of relief.

His sigh turned into a gasp as he beheld the girl's flame-red skin. To him, it looked as if someone had rubbed strawberry or beet juice all over her back, not resting until all of her skin was an angry, scorched shade of crimson.

"How… long were you out?" he managed, fumbling with the cap on the cream.

Asuka let out a disgusted breath. "About three hours…"

"Did you have sunscreen on?"

"Yeah… but I didn't find out until AFTER I was burned that it wasn't the waterproof kind – and we had just gone swimming. Can we stop the with question and answer routine?"

"Sorry…"

There was a moment of quiet, broken when Asuka hissed, "Not so hard!"

Shinji managed an apology and lightened his touch, trying to be as soft as he could as he spread the cream across her back. He started just below her neck, working out over her shoulders and down to her…

"Asuka…"

"What?"

"Ummm… shouldn't there be, ummm… a line?"

The room grew deathly still.

"Listen, Third Child…" Asuka began, her voice icy and low, "if you're going to help, help – and mind your own business!"

"Sorry…"

Unseen by Shinji, the redhead's face was as bright a red as her back – and not from the burn. It had been her idea to sunbathe topless, and it had taken much cajoling to convince Hikari that 1: tan-lines were bad, and 2: no one would see them, since the Horaki's had an enclosed, secluded back patio. Of course, she had not banked on 3: being so comfortable that she drifted off to sleep and 4: getting burned so bad and being in so much pain that she had to let a mere BOY touch her.

She decided that maybe he needed a little reminder of how lucky he was. "Do you know," she commented airily, unconsciously pressing her shirt closer to her chest, "how many boys would kill to be sitting where you are?" She grinned, wishing she could see his face as she added, "Too bad you can't ever tell anyone about this, or you could say you saw me topless."

Her smile slowly faded as Shinji's hands paused… then slowly resumed their movement. "I know…" the boy said quietly, his voice tinged with the slightest bit of sadness, "I know, Asuka…"

"What, exactly, do you know?" she muttered, irrationally frustrated that he had not stammered and stuttered, "Smartass."

Shinji made no immediate reply, instead he simply continued applying the soothing ointment to her back, taking great pains to stay entirely away from her front. Asuka found his silence irritating, but could not hold her anger as he carefully eased the pain of her burning skin. In spite of her vexation, she soon found her body relaxing, calmed by the smooth, rhythmic movements of her fellow pilot.

"You think you're… so smart…" she said after a minute, her eyelids growing heavy, "think you know…" she paused to let out a yawn, "so much…"

"No," Shinji said gently, "I don't…"

"Damn right!" Asuka agreed, yawning again, "You don't know… anything, Third Child… you're just little boy…" her eyes slowly drifted shut as the combination of her exhaustion and the soothing feeling of his gentle touch dulled her senses.

"Just… a boy…"

Shinji made no reply, and shortly he felt the girl's breathing growing slowly deeper and more even as her body relaxed against his leg. After several minutes he whispered, "Asuka…?" Getting no reply other than a slight shifting in her position, he tried again.

"Asuka? Are you awake?"

Silence filled the apartment as his question trailed off unanswered.

Suddenly shivering very badly, Shinji leaned forward, closing his eyes and inhaling the soft, clean scent of the girl's red hair. Taking a deep, uneven breath, he leaned closer still, situating his mouth less than an inch from her ear and whispering the words he knew he could never say while she was awake.

"I like you…"

Asuka made no reply – indeed, she barely stirred as the Third Child confessed his affection. She simply shifted a bit, unconsciously making herself more comfortable between his feet and letting out a soft, content sigh.

Leaning back and opening his eyes, Shinji finally pulled his hands off of the redhead's back, wiping nervous sweat from his upper lip with the back of his hand and trying to control his breathing. After several moments of simply staring at her, he unbuttoned his school shirt and took it off, laying it as gently as he could over her exposed skin.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered softly, folding his arms and leaning back on the couch, wishing his eyes weren't quite so damp.

When Asuka shifted again five minutes later, folding her arms on his right leg and snuggling closer to him, Shinji allowed his true face to be seen, revealing his longing, sadness, and hopelessness to her sleeping form.

He knew she would never see him the way he saw her, or ever feel what he felt. It was enough, though, to be close to her – even if she didn't care, even if she thought he was pathetic, even if she… even if she hated him, it was enough that he could be near her.

Watching her sleep, so peaceful and serene, was all that Shinji Ikari would ever need in this or any other world.

And by the time she woke, startled, disoriented, and scolding him for trying to take advantage of her, his tears had been wiped away… and only his shy, apologetic mask could be seen…

The End

Author's notes: I had originally intended to have Asuka be faking it, and hear what Shinji said… until I realized that that was incredibly cliché. ^_~ I dunno, at first I wanted this to be a little cute WAFFY piece of fluff… but when I started writing the end, it kinda twisted around and became what it is. I do think, though, that this is a bit truer to the original series, or at least, the later episodes, you know? Anyway, I hope you liked this little short, and don't worry – I've got some WAFF coming soon :P

Pre-read was courtesy of Ryoma, Rhine, and Blue Taboo. Thanks, guys… you rule. ^_^

Feedback is welcome at random1377@yahoo.com


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